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What better way to ensure a restful night’s sleep than to find out what’s keeping everyone else awake? More than 25 communicators, including one from Slovenia, got up early for an Institute of Internal Communication London breakfast briefing at Westminster Council House. After an introduction by Institute chief executive Steve Doswell, the group discussed the big issues worrying communicators. A pre-event online poll identified 10 major concerns... · Teams don't communicate across organisational silos even though it would benefit their work · Too many people are saying one thing and doing another - they don't see that actions are comms too · There is such a lot of comms out there I worry that people don't read/listen/take on board anything · Managers are not communicating with their teams effectively but I don't know how to get them to do it better · I know face-to-face is the most effective comms in a change programme but we are global/multi-sites. How do we cope with that? · I have no money and no people, how am I supposed to communicate? · If we let staff all comment via social media they may go 'off message' · If we let staff comment on social media we'll compromise security · I am worried that staff only see communication as dealing with journalists, whereas actually it involves research, campaigns, internal comms etc · How do I measure the value of our communications? Alex Aiken, director of communications and strategy at Westminster City Council, started the session by urging communicators and organisations to be fearless in tackling issues head on. Referring to his past as an advisor to the John Major government at the time of ‘Black Wednesday’, he said: “I was part of one the biggest political disasters of the 20th century, and you learn far more from your failures than successes. “All too often we are too meek and mild in our approach, and we are more focused on the detail than facing up to the really big problems.” The secret of a good night’s sleep, Alex said, is creating a communications culture underpinned by a shared story, honesty, credibility and having a defined business case for all comms activity. He also identified regular manager communications and the ability to ask ‘awkward’ questions as the key to energising employees, driving improvement and spotting issues before they arise. Michael Dunmore, director of strategy at Small Back Room, also highlighted managers as the key to bringing a corporate strategy to life. He used examples from the agency’s client-work including BUPA, Barclays and Alston Power to show how strategic vision can be made meaningful for employees through creative storytelling and giving managers the right resources. A group discussion then highlighted a number of other challenges: · How do you make train operators comms relevant for such a diverse employee audience? · How do you persuade construction managers to cascade message to their teams? · How do you measure comms effectiveness without damaging morale in a bailed out bank? A problem shared, as they say, and many of those present will sleep more soundly knowing it could be worse. The next IOIC London region event is a three-part seminar series exploring ‘the value of values’ in October, November and January. Details to follow.
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